Week #6 of 52 Ancestors: Samuel Cox of Beaminster, Dorset, England

I'm working in Salt Lake City at the Family History Library for ten days. In recent years, the way we research has changed considerably, and it will continue to change. Today when I search the library catalog I'm just as likely to find the records I seek on the FamilySearch website as in the microfilm. It speeds up my research tremendously to have it online, but also makes me think I shouldn't do what I'm doing because I could do it later at home. However, I must strike while the iron is hot!

Beaminster Church Tower from the Northwest,
Hine, History of Beaminster

Though the Kimmitts take great pride in their Irish blood, they have married into several English lines, and the Cox family is one of them. I wrote about Robert Fitzgerald Meredith in my previous post. Robert was not the eldest son and therefore did not inherit property because of the law of primogeniture.

As a young vicar he got a posting in Dorsetshire and there met his wife, Mary Russell Cox, thus introducing the English Cox line into the family. Mary was baptized in Beaminster on 22 September 1826, the daughter of our subject, Samuel Cox, and his wife Virtue/Vertue Russell. (1)

By bouncing between the Dorset parish record extracts on FindMyPast.com, and images on Ancestry.com, and FamilySearch.org I'm able to add quite a few names to the old tree, with pretty solid evidence to back it all.

Samuel Cox was born on 9 September 1790 in Beaminster and baptized on 16 December of the same year, the son of Samuel Cox and Ann, image below. (2)

We know Samuel's mother Ann's surname was Symes from their Beaminster marriage record: "1790, Samuel Cox Jun.r and Ann Symes both of this Parish were married in this Church by Banns this 23rd Day of March by Hugh Pugh Curate." I wonder if the local kids mocked poor Hugh Pugh for his name? You may have noticed that Baby Samuel was born only five and a half months after his parents' marriage. They may have been brought up for punishment, or at least a good scolding.

It's a very nice record because it has witness signatures. The last one is young John Cox Russell, aged 6 years, making his mark. Isn't that cute? I've never seen a minor listed like that. I can just see him all dressed up and excited to be playing a part in the wedding. (3) I  do not yet know how, if at all, he is related to the groom, but find in the parish registers that he is the son of John and Mary Cox–which John Cox will have to be determined at a later date. (4)

The History of Beaminster has an entire sketch on the Beaminster Manor House, "home of the old Beaminster family of Cox for many generations... The name is [first] mentioned in a transcript of the parish Register for the year 1585 when Robert, a son of Robert Cox, was baptized." (5) The author, Richard Hine, refers frequently to the work of historian John Banger Russell, a meticulous historian and collector who just happened to be Vertue Russell's father. The book is very carefully researched and assembled and refers frequently to original records--a gold mine for Beaminster researchers! I'm thinking he probably also assembled a good deal of genealogical information as well, tee hee.

The banns of marriage were announced for Samuel Cox the younger and Vertue Russell three times in Beaminster before they married on 9 September 1816, Samuel's 26th birthday. (6)

Hine describes renovations Samuel made to the manor house around 1822: "In the drawing room he placed a handsomely carved white marble mantelpiece of Italian workmanship, the sculpture of which vividly depicts scenes connected with the siege of Troy. This apartment was further enriched by a painted canvas ceiling representing the "Feast of the Gods" by Andrew Casali, an Italian artist born at Civita Vecchia, in 1720." (7)

Fireplace at Beaminster Manor House (8)

It's not often we get to see how our ancestors' homes were decorated. I wonder if young Mary frolicked around this fireplace and was motivated to studied her history lessons because of the scenes of the Trojan War carved into it.

Nine also relates that: "When Princess Victoria, in 1833, passed through Beaminster, Samuel Cox, then a Cornet in the Dorset Yeomanry Calvary, had the honor of commanding the escort of Her Royal Highness from this town to Lyme Regis. Samuel Cox, Deputy Lieutenant and a Justice of the Peace for Dorset, was for more than [a] quarter of a century Chairman of the Beaminster Union Board of Guardians. On his death in 1860 the family estates passed into the possession of his eldest son, Samuel Symes Cox." (9)

Samuel and Virtue had (at least) the following children, which I find in census and parish records, but have not yet thoroughly documented (10):
Samuel Symes, b. 4 September 1817
John Russell, b. ca 1820, twin
Charles, b. ca 1820, twin
Ellen, b. ca 1822
Henry, b. ca 1824
Ann M., b. ca 1826
Mary Russell, b. ca 1826 (line carrier)
Georgina, b. ca 1828

Samuel died in Beaminster on 22 October 1860. He is buried at Holy Trinity, Beaminster. (11)

We have a nice will extract here, naming Samuel's widow Vertue, brother Peter, and son Samuel Symes Cox. As stated above, Samuel's son Samuel Symes Cox inherited the property.

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Notes

1. “Dorset, England, Births and Baptisms” (online database), baptisms, p. 166, Mary Cox, n. 1828, 22 September 1826, Beaminster daughter of Samuel and Virtue Cox; Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 9 February 2015); citing Dorset History Centre; Dorset Parish Registers; Reference: PE/BE.

2. "Dorset, England, Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812, " (online database), baptisms, no p. n., Samuel Cox, baptized 16 December 1790 (born 9 September 1790, Beaminster; Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : 9 February 2015); citing Dorset History Centre; Dorset Parish Registers; Reference: PE/BE: RE2/3.

3. “Dorset, England, Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812," marriages, Samuel Cox Junior and Ann Symes, 23 March 1790,  Beaminster; citing Dorset History Centre; Dorset Parish Registers; Reference: PE/BE: RE 4/2. 

4. "Dorset, England, Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812," baptisms, John Cox, 24 December 1783, Beaminster;; citing Dorset History Centre; Dorset Parish Registers; Reference: PE/BE: RE2/2.

5. Richard Hine, The History of Beaminster (Taunton, England: Barnicott and Pearce, 1914), 350-353.

6. “Dorset, England, Marriages and Banns, 1813-1921” (online database) Banns, n. 45, Samuel Cox and Vertue Russell, 11, 18 and 25 August 1816, Beaminster; citing Dorset History Centre; Dorset Parish Registers; Reference: PE/BE: RE 4/2 - 4/6. And “Dorset, England, Marriages and Banns, 1813-1921,” marriage, Samuel Cox and Vertue Russell, 9 September 1816, Beaminster, p. 20; Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 9 February 2015); citing Dorset History Centre; Dorset Parish Registers; Reference: PE/BE: RE 4/2 - 4/6.

7. Hine, The History of Beaminster, 351.

8. "Plate 77: Beaminster, Manor House, Fireplace in Drawing Room," digital image of photograph; British History Online, (http://www.british-history.ac.uk/rchme/dorset/vol1/plate-77 : accessed 10 February 2015); citing An Inventory of the Historical Monuments in Dorset, Volume 1, West (London, 1952), p. 77.

9. Hine, The History of Beaminster, 352.

10.1841 England Census, Beaminster, Dorset, piece 280, bk. 1, folio 58, p. 26, household of Samuel Cox; Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 10 February 2015); citing Class: HO107; Piece: 280; Book: 1; Civil Parish: Beaminster; County: Dorset; Enumeration District: 3; Folio: 58; Page: 36; Line: 6; GSU roll: 241337. Also, 1851 England census, Beaminster, ED 1b, piece 1860, folio 389, p. 18, household n. 91, household of Samuel Cox; Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 10 February 2015); citing Class: HO107; Piece: 1860; Folio: 389; Page: 18; GSU roll: 221008. Also Dorset Parish Registers on Ancestry.

11. "England and Wales, FreeBMD Death Index, 1837-1915" (online database), Samuel Cox, Beaminster, Dorset, 22 October 1860, 5a:225; Ancestry (www.ancestry.com : 27 Mar 2011). Also, "England and Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1861-1941" (online database) Wills, 1861, p. 38, 7 May, Samuel Cox, died 22 October 1860; Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 9 February 2015); citing Principal Probate Registry, Calendar of the Grants of Probate and Letters of Administration made in the Probate Registries of the High Court of Justice in England. Also, "Dorset, England, Deaths and Burials, 1813-2010" (online database), Samuel Cox, 26 October 1860, Holy Trinity, Beaminster;   Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 9 February 2015); citing Dorst History Centre; Dorset Parish Registers; Reference: PE/BE.

Week #2 of 52 Ancestors: Robert Robertson Kimmitt, 1871-1951, Man of Many Titles

Robert Robertson Kimmitt, O.B.E (Mil.), T.D., D.L

This is my second post in the "52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks" blogger challenge. So far, so good!

This week I'm switching to the Kimmitt side. I get many inquiries from Kimmitt cousins around the world and I'm afraid I've been telling them all the same thing since 1993: when I retire I hope to tie together all those loose cousin threads and produce a family history. In the meantime I'm gathering evidence here and there, and always happy to hear from members of all branches, from New Zealand to Canada. Part of the reason I don't like to write is because it feels endless. There is so much to say about some people, and Robert Robertson Kimmitt is one of them. So I will present some of the odds and ends I have assembled on him to date.

Robert Robertson (RR) Kimmitt was my husband's great-grandfather. He was the second youngest of the ten known children of the Reverend Edward Kimmitt and his wife Margaret Unwin, born 4 December 1871 in the little village of Benturb, County Tyrone, Ireland, near Moy (1). Guide books say that Moy is one of the most beautiful towns in Ireland, especially in summer when it is "filled with flowers from top to bottom" Yet I could NOT convince his descendants to visit his place of birth when we were on vacation in Northern Ireland this past summer! I can't imagine why, but they were afraid I'd get sidetracked.

The Rev. Edward Kimmitt was minister of the Prebysterian Church in nearby Loughgall, "Cloveneden," when son Robert was born, and he baptized him there on 3 March 1872 (2). Edward Kimmitt appears in Griffith's Valuation in 1864 in Ballygassey. (3) I haven't researched the Kimmitts on the ground in Ireland yet but I believe a research trip to Belfast is in order!

Robert married Elizabeth Marie Rowand Loudon in Belfast on 2 August 1899. Robert's occupation was "agent" (4). Though I can't put my finger on the source, I know that he was an agent for the Belfast Rope and Twine company. They moved to London by 1900 when son Gordon (my husband's grandfather) was born, and in 1901 the family is in Ealing, a borough of London, at 38 Egerton Gardens. (5) 

Photo courtesy of  The Man and Other Families website.

In 1911 Robert and Elizabeth and their two oldest children, Gordon, 11, and Vivian Robertson, 7 (male) were living at 33 Loveday Road, West Ealing when the census taker came to call. He noted their birthplaces: Robert was born in Moy, Elizabeth in Cork, Gordon in Shepard's Bush, London; and Vivian in Ealing, London. At that time Robert was still an agent for [Belfast] Rope and Twine Makers (6). According to a display in the Titanic Museum in Belfast we visited last summer, in 1900 it was the largest rope works in the world.

Detail of Rope Bridge at Carrick-a-Rede, Co. Antrim, No. Ireland, taken July 2014 by author.

Robert and Elizabeth went on to have their third child, Rowand Everil R. Kimmitt (female), in the third quarter of 1912. (7) RR (and his father before him) moved around frequently, so a timeline is definitely in order here. That will help me define the jurisdiction of various records I need to pull to fill in the gaps.

He seems to have been a natural leader. He is pictured below in 1915, the commanding officer of this group of Non-Commissioned Officers of the 3/18 London Regiment (the London Irish Rifles) --he is fourth from the left in the second row from the bottom. (8)

Here is a detail showing remarkable similarity to my father-in-law:

Robert Robertson Kimmitt served as Mayor of Ealing from 1924-25, and details of his election to the position, and the high regard in which he was held by the community appear in a newspaper article kindly sent to me by the Ealing Historical Society. (9) They look so... Downton Abbey-ish.

In 1947, was appointed High Sheriff of Middlesex. A glowing article about him says: "His first commission was with the 5th Royal Munster Fusilliers in 1899. He served in the First World War with the 18th Battalion London Regiment (London Irish Rifles) of which he was promoted Lieutenant Colonel in 1916; he was Hon. Colonel of the 44th (Home Counties) Division Signals 1928-1933, a military member of the County of Londonderry T.A. and Air Force Association from 1917-1936, and of the Middlesex Association from 1925 until the beginning of this year. In 1937 he became County Controller V.A.D. Middlesex, was appointed an Officer of the Venerable Order of St. John of Jerusalem in 1928 and Commander in 1939; he was awarded the O.B.E. (Military Division) in 1919, and the Territorial Decoration 1932, and has served as Army Welfare Officer for the County Middlesex since 1941. (10) I wonder what ever became of those medals, ribbons and pins?

He went on to head up or serve on many local committees such as the Ealing Public Health Committee from 1923-38 and many others, taking a special interest in the local hospital, King Edward Memorial. He was also a mason, according to his grandson, Brian Robert Rowland Kimmitt.

He "collapsed while attending the hospital he served,"  and "died with almost startling suddenness” there in Ealing Broadway, London on 24 January 1951 at 79 years old. Wife Elizabeth had died in 1944. His funeral was held at St. Andrews Church, Mount Park Road and he is buried in the family grave at Westminster Cemetery, Hanwell. (11)

Notes

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1. Brian Knox, "The Kimmitts of Armagh" September 2001, 4;  typescript report, in author's files. Brian's report is carefully researched, well written, and though not strictly documented he does make reference to where is obtaining information. He hired local researchers to pull parish and civil records. Also, "Ireland Births and Baptisms, 1620-1881," transcription from unknown source; FamilySearch.org (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/FG4Z-XD4 : accessed 12 January 2015), Kimmett, 04 Dec 1871; citing Tyrone, Ireland, reference v 16-2 p 546; FHL microfilm 255,832.

2. Knox, "The Kimmitts of Armagh and Tyrone," 4.

3. Richard Griffith, General Valuation of Rateable Property in Ireland, Loughgall Parish, townland of Ballygassey, Co. Armagh, p. 25, taken in 1864, Rev. Edward Kimmitt; FindMyPast.com (http://www.findmypast.com : accessed 13 January 2015).

4. Marriage of Robert Robertson Kimmitt and Elizabeth Marie Loudon, 2 August 1899, Macrory Memorial Presbyterian Church, Belfast, Antrim, Ireland; online subscription database, transcription Irish Family History Foundation (http"//ifhf.brsgenealogy.com: accessed 14 Apr 2010, now http://www.rootsireland.ie).

5.  1901 England, Wales and Scotland census, Ealing, Middlesex, England, Castlebar Municipal Ward, St. Stephen's Parish, Brentford Reg. Dist., folio 164, p. 43, 38 Egerton Gardens, sched. n. 265, household of Robert R. Kimmitt; digital image, FindMyPast.com (http://www.findmypast.com : accessed 12 January 2015).

6. 1911 England, Wales and Scotland Census, Ealing, Middlesex, England, ED 28, Brentford Reg. Dist., Reg. Dist. n. 128, sched. 297, 33 Loveday Road, household of Robert Robertson Kimmitt; FindMyPast.com (http://www.findmypast.com : accessed 13 January 2015).

7. "England and Wales Births 1837-2006," index, birth of Rowand E R Kimmitt, 3rd quarter, 1912, Brentford Dist., Middlesex, England, 3A:264; FindMyPast.com (http://www.findmypast.com : accessed 13 January 2015).

8. NCOs of the 3/18 London Regiment (London Irish Rifles), photograph, Illustrated War News, 6 October 1915; Northwest Family History Society  (http://northwestfamilyhistorysociety.blogspot.com : accessed 18 August 2013). This link no longer works and I cannot find the site today.

9. "Mayor and Mayoress Designate for 1924-5," Middlesex County Times, Ealing, London, England, 26 July 1924, no p. n.; photocopy sent to author by Borough of Ealing Local History Centre, London, England.

10. "High Sheriff of Middlesex: Alderman R. R. Kimmitt appointed", Middlesex County Times, Ealing, London, England, 15 Mar 1947, no p. n.; photocopy sent to author by Borough of Ealing Local History Centre, London, England.

11. "Alderman Colonel Kimmitt Dies," West Middlesex County Times, Ealing, London, England, 27 January 1951, p. 1photocopy sent to author by Borough of Ealing Local History Centre, London, England.

Week #1 of 52 Ancestors: Benjamin Barnes of Hingham, Massachusetts (1747-1833)--Farmer, Patriot, Landowner

All right. I'm going to try--TRY, mind you--to participate in the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge for Geneabloggers! Well. I'll participate, but whether I'll manage to post 52 times cannot yet be known. To begin, I closed my eyes and selected someone from the index in my genealogy program, and voila, one of my favorite ancestors! So I'm commencing with my 4th great-grandfather, Benjamin Barnes of Hingham, Massachusetts. I posted about him in 2009, but wanted to update that post, so I'm not sure if this will count as 2015, but oh well!

So far, I've only discovered the term non compos mentis applied to one ancestor, and that happens to be him, poor guy. But he led a full life before that diagnosis and that is what I'd like to focus on. Benjamin was born in 1747 in Hingham (1), a pretty town south of Boston, right on Massachusetts Bay. He owned land near Hingham Harbor, where I go boating with my best friends from college every summer. The general area in which he owned land can be seen in the background of this photo. This is one of those moments when you wonder why that land hasn't passed down directly to you!

What has been passed down, however, is a precious 1777 framed deed. Until yesterday I was unable to scan it because of the glare from the glass. The back was sealed and I didn't want to mess with it. However, it fell off the wall and cracked open the frame, so yesterday I took it to a restorer to clean, deacidify and preserve it. It had been glued down to some acidic cardboard. I mention this because I was finally able to scan it.

I won't transcribe the entire deed, but on 15 March 1777, Benjamin Jr., yeoman bought two acres of salt meadow and upland (on the east side of Weir River, near the mouth, perhaps now part of Hull) from his father, Benjamin Sr., yeoman, my 5th great-grandfather, for 16 pounds, 13 shillings, 4 pence. Hannah (Beal) Barnes, my 5th great-grandmother, relinquishes her dower, with a signature next to the X. Oh yeah, female signature!

George Lincoln, in his History of Hingham, says that Benjamin was a farmer. I wonder if he grazed his sheep in the salt meadow as they still do in France around Mont St. Michel, where the lamb is said to be extraordinarily tasty because of it? I'm making a mental note to go kayaking there some day when the weather is fair. In the Weir Estuary, not Mont St. Michel, though that's not a bad idea...

Benjamin is listed in the Hingham census of 1790, near his father, and brother Canterbury Barnes. Two more brothers, John and Ensign, appear on the same page.

Benjamin was the patriot I used in my application to the DAR. He has a pretty detailed Revolutionary War pension application file, submitted in 1832 on his behalf by Ned Cushing, his legal guardian, when Benjamin was 85. It mentions that Benjamin was "himself incapable of recollecting the past events of his life with correctness" so they get his war buddies to give affidavits telling about his service: in 1775, like half of the state, he was called to Lexington to "march on the alarm of April 19, 1775. After that he "guarded the sea" in Hingham (they don't mention that he could probably do that from his father's front yard); in 1776 he did the same in nearby Nantasket. But in 1777 he was present at the surrender of Gen. Burgoyne. And there is more. Length of service for him was anywhere from three days (Lexington) to eight months. He remained a private for the entire war. (2)

Service accounts vary slightly among those giving affidavits. Of course they do! How can 75-85 year old men remember back 58 years to which three-month stint they served with whom? I think it's sweet that so many years after the fact, these very old men put their heads together on behalf of poor Benjamin so that he could get some relief from the government he fought to create.

I love pension files because you find attestations by town clerks to vital records: an affidavit of his birth on the Hingham town records.

Benjamin Barnes, son of Benjamin & Hannah

born June 7, 1747 ––

A true copy from the Records of births in Hingham

Attest

James S. Lewis

Town Clerk

Then, Justice of the Peace Ebenezer Gay attests that he "verily believes it to be a record of the birth of Benjamin Barnes of said Hingham now under the Guardianship of Ned Cushing who applies in behalf of said Benjamin for a pension under the law of the United States passed in June last –– and I hereby certify that the said Lewis is personally known to me and that his reputation for truth is unquestionable." 

Then, it makes me laugh because on the next page, they get the Register of Probate to attest that Ebenezer Gay is honest and forthright as well. Then on the next page, George Washington attests that Ebenezer Gay is trustworthy and true, also! Just kidding about that last one. But really, when does it end?

I use the Revised Fourth Edition of Black's Law Dictionary, published in 1968, because it is pretty good for older legal terms. On page 1200 you can find a definition of Non Compos Mentis:

"Lat. Not sound of mind; insane. This is a very general term, embracing all varieties of mental derangement. See Insanity. [Then, the best part follows...] Coke has enumerated four different classes of persons who are deemed in law to be non compotes mentis: 

• First an idiot, or fool natural; 
• Second, he who was of good and sound mind and memory, but by the act of God has lost it; 
• Third, a lunatic, lunaticus qui gaudet lucidis intervallis, who sometimes is of good sound mind and memory, and sometimes non compos mentis; 
• Fourth, one who is non compos mentis by his own act, as a drunkard, Co. Litt. 247a; 4 Coke, 124."

I think that poor Benjamin, after his honorable service to the cause of freedom, was an example of Coke's definition number two: "of good and sound mind and memory, but by the act of God has lost it." I'm just thankful that everyone else was there to help him pick up the memories. Benjamin died on 30 December 1833 and was buried in January of 1834 (3). I sure hope someone took care of Ned Cushing when he need it, too.

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Sources
1. George Lincoln, The History of the Town of Hingham, Massachusetts, 3 vols, Vols 2-3, The Genealogies (Somersworth, New Hampshire: New England History Press, 1982), 2:26. Also, "Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Application Files," online subscription database linked to original images, Benjamin Barnes, private, file n. S. 30,262, Massachusetts;  fold3.com (http://www.fold3.com : accessed 7 January 2015); citing NARA microfilm series M804, RG 15;
2. Revolutionary War pension application file, Benjamin Barnes.
3. "Index to Selected Final Payment Vouchers, 1818-1864," online subscription database linked to images of cards, Benjamin Barnes, Massachusetts, date of death 30 December 1833; fold3.com (http://www.fold3.com : accessed 7 January 2015); citing NARA, RG 217. Also, The Hearse Account, Hingham, April 1, 1830, account book, Benjamin Barnes was buried in January 1834; microfilm 76.13, Hingham, Massachusetts Public Library.